Prestressed, strong foam glass tiles

ABSTRACT

A prestressed, strong foam glass tile for use in construction. The prestressed, strong foam glass tiles of the present invention are capable of withstanding relatively large prestressing as a result of their relatively high compression strength. These prestressed, foam glass tiles will absorb and/or withstand more energy from an explosion, withstand higher heat and wind loading and other mechanical forces than traditional foam glass tiles. The foam glass tile of the present invention is strong enough that it can be prestressed over 1000 psi (lb./sq. in.), and more preferably over 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and even more preferably over 5,000 psi. The prestressed, strong foam glass tiles of the present invention may be included as part of a prestressed assembly. Said prestressed assembly may be comprised of two metal members, one or more prestressed foam glass tiles, and a tension member such as a tension bolt and/or wires.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is a divisional application of, and claims priorityfrom, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/625,102, filed on Jul. 22,2003. The content of the above-referenced parent application isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a building material to beused in building construction. More particularly, the present inventionrelates to prestressed, strong foam glass tiles, which are to be used inbuilding construction and other purposes and assemblies made therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Over the past decades, there have been a significant number of terroristattacks on government buildings owned by the United States and othercountries both outside of the United States and within. For example, in1993, terrorists exploded a car bomb inside the garage of the WorldTrade Center located in New York City, resulting in loss of life andsignificant property damage. Since then, in 1995, other extremistsexploded a truck outside of the Federal Building located in OklahomaCity, Okla. also resulting in significant loss of life and propertydamage. In 1998, the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar EsSalaam were also subject to terrorist attacks by car bombs, each ofwhich resulted in significant loss of life and property damages. Morerecently, the tragic events at the World Trade Center in New York Cityand the Pentagon in Virginia has further emphasized the long felt needto develop and manufacture building materials which are able towithstand the shock wave from car bomb explosions and other similarterrorist attacks.

Traditionally, the support structures for many buildings are made fromreinforced concrete. In some instances, when stronger materials aredesired, prestressed concrete has been used. For example, prestressedconcrete has been used in buildings, underground structures, TV towers,floating storage and offshore structures, power stations, nuclearreactor vessels and numerous types of bridge systems including segmentaland cable-stayed bridges. Prestressed concrete has been consideredadvantageous over reinforced concrete in instances where a shallowerdepth for the same span and loading conditions is desired. Prestressedconcrete has also been considered advantageous over reinforced concretewhere a lighter weight material is desired. Prestressed concrete alsorequires less concrete and less reinforcement due to its added strength.Unfortunately, prestressing operations themselves results in addedcosts: formwork is more complex, since the geometry of prestressedsections is usually composed of flanged sections with thin webs. Thus,it would be desirable to have a building material which obtains theadded strength of prestressed concrete, but were to weigh less and thusrequire less support structure. Lighter support structures have theability to increase useable space within the same footprint, and/orincrease the number of floors that can be supported, and/or withstandgreater impact forces, such as caused by earthquakes. Typically,prestressed concrete will contain water, either as a result of itsmanufacturing process or due to water migrating from outside theconcrete. As a result of the presence of such water, the tension membersthat prestress the concrete, usually made of steel or other corrosivemetals, may rust and thus weaken the structure. Further, as a result ofthe presence of such water, when the prestressed concrete is exposed totypical heat/thaw cycles it can crack. Also, as a result of the presenceof such water, in the case of fire, the prestressed concrete is subjectto failure as a result of steam formation. Another drawback to usingprestressed concrete is that it has a limited variety of aestheticappearances.

While the concept of using foam glass as a construction material is wellknown in the prior art, generally such foam glass has been used as ahigh temperature insulator and thus seeks to minimize its density andweight and is not suitable for absorbing sufficient energy from a shockwave from unexpected explosions or to resist an earthquake and/or windand heat loading. The shortcomings in such conventional foam glass asrelevant to this long standing problem are now described.

For example, Pittsburgh Corning Corporation (“PCC”) of Pittsburgh, Pa.has developed and marketed a product known as Foam Glas® InsulationSystems, which is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,959,541, 4,119,422,4,198,224, 4,571,321 and 4,623,585. Because the focus of thesedevelopments are directed to making a foam insulating material, the FoamGlas® Insulation Systems tile commercially sold by PCC is relativelylight, weighing 9.5 lb./cu. ft. Furthermore, since the purpose of thistile is to be used as thermal insulation, it lacks surface strength, andcan be dented very easily. Because the Foam Glas® Insulation Systemstile is of relatively low density, e.g., 9.5 lb./cu. ft., such tileswill easily break when exposed to forces typically exerted on exteriorwalls of a building or other structure. Thus, such tiles are notsuitable to be used as tiling for an exterior wall. Similarly, thisfoam, when exposed to a shock wave from an explosion will absorb verylittle of the shock waves energy when it implodes. A shock wave is ameasure associated with explosions which is easily understood by thoseskilled in the art as being a pressure front resulting from anexplosion.

Others have also attempted to use foam glass tiles as the outerskin-surface of buildings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,960discloses a thermally insulating foam glass tile that is coated with anoutside surface to make a hard skin to protect the outside of abuilding. The tiles disclosed are fabricated in extremely small sizes,i.e., 18 cm×18 cm×6 cm, and the interior foam material which makes upthe bulk of the material is generally of a low density. Significantly,there is no indication that the strength of the material disclosed iscapable of absorbing sufficient energy from an explosion, and indeed thesize of the disclosed tiles would not be ideally suitable for absorbingsuch energy. Furthermore, there is no indication that small size poresare being used.

Prior work by the inventors and others have developed methods for makingfoam glass tiles of a wide a variety of densities as described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,430,108 that can be used for building materials. While thetechniques and methods disclosed were useful to manufacturethen-standard size tiles of 4.25 in.×4.25 in.×0.25 in., this disclosuredoes not teach how to manufacture tiles of a larger size, for example 2ft.×2 ft.×3 in. Likewise the tiles manufactured under these methods wererelatively light, e.g., less than 10 lbs., and were not manufactured towithstand the effects of an explosion. To the contrary, these methodssought to optimize the thermal insulation properties of the material,and thus made smaller, lighter and weaker tiles.

While still others have worked on trying to make some large-size porousshaped bodies, these have been smaller in critical dimensions and oflower density than the present invention and not suitable to absorb asubstantial amount of a shock wave which impacts the bodies associatedwith an explosion or earthquake. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,228describes a process for manufacturing large-size porous shaped bodies oflow density by swelling, in order to manufacture large-size cellularceramic structural elements, e.g., multi-story high wall elements havinga low weight. In the example, it discloses a tile 8.2 ft.×1.64 ft.×2in., with a density of 26 lb./cu. ft. and a mass of 60 lbs. It alsoteaches to obtain a low density in order to optimize thermal insulation.Thus, this foam when exposed to a shock wave from an explosion orearthquake or heat or wind loading or stress of any kind will absorbvery little of the shock waves energy when it implodes.

Further, others, such as Central Glass Co. Ltd., of Ube, Japan, haveattempted to make foam glass using densities in the range of 0.3 to 0.6g/cu. cm (or 18.7 to 37.4 lb./cu. ft.) as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,798,758. The '758 patent explains that in order to make the foam glassstronger, an outer layer is also added which has a density in the rangeof 0.8 to 1.7 g/cu. cm and a thickness of 1.5 to 20 mm. In the examplesshown, all the samples which are over 30 lbs. in weight were found to beunacceptable from a cutability and impact resistance perspective, foramong other reasons that the surface had appreciable breaking andsometimes cracking, thus not providing a closed pore surface. Further,U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,015, a later patent by Central Glass Co. Ltd.,explains the tensile strength perpendicular to the surface of the tiledescribed in the '758 patent was very poor, i.e., below 150 lb./sq. in.,thus making it unsuitable for purposes of the present invention. Evenafter putting a third layer to improve the strength of the product asdescribed in the '015 patent, the best tensile strength achieved wasbelow 200 lb./sq. in., and making it unsuitable for purposes of thepresent invention.

Other efforts by Central Glass Co., Ltd. attempt to make higher densityglass tiles, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,321. However, these tiles donot appear to be a closed pore structure and there is no indication asto their strength. Indeed, filler materials are used in an attempt toincrease the strength with no reporting data. Further, the tilesdisclosed were also very thin, 33 mm (or 1.3 in.).

Still others have attempted to make foam glass tiles with smaller poresize. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,351, the relationship of poresize to thermal resistivity is shown in which the best pore size isalways greater than 1.0 mm. Similarly, the density is always less than12 lb./cu. ft. Other efforts to use small pore size and largerdensities, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,951,632 and 4,758,538, failed toachieve comparable strengths and does not disclose achieving a closedpore outer skin as disclosed by the present invention.

In the past, although some have made tempered glass, such as used inwindshields, no one has successfully made prestressed foam glass tiles,like the present invention. Similarly, while it has been suggested inU.S. Pat. No. 4,024,309, to prestress foam glass slabs, the methodsdisclosed to achieve such prestressing are inoperable. Specifically, the'309 patent discloses a process whereby outer metal sheets are to beplaced in tension by stretching while foam glass is formed therebetween.Unfortunately, the temperatures at which such foam glass is formed willcause the outer metal sheets which are in contact therewith to stretchand thereby releasing the intended tension. As such, the processdisclosed would be inoperable. Further, the method disclosed in the '309patent utilizes water cooling of the foam glass, which will cause theouter edge to go through the glass transition before the interiorportion, thus causing the interior portion to shrink due to the higherthermal expansion coefficient of the liquid center as compared to thesolid exterior, which will cause the final product to be in tension inthe center rather than in compression as desired. Thus, even if theresulting product does not break from such tensions, the desiredprestressing would be the opposite as desired, making the final productvery weak at best.

Unlike the prior art discussed above, the tiles of the present inventionare designed and constructed of various materials so that such tileshave properties which are ideal for withstanding the shock waveassociated with large explosions or make a building or other structureresistant to earthquakes and other shock waves.

Thus, while the prior art is of interest, the known methods andapparatus of the prior art present several limitations which the presentinvention seeks to overcome. In particular, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a prestressed, strong foam glass tile whichcan be used as a building material or otherwise.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a prestressed,strong foam glass tile that is lighter than prestressed concrete.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a prestressed,strong foam glass tile that is stronger than prestressed concrete.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aprestressed, strong foam glass tile that can withstand highertemperatures than prestressed concrete.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aprestressed, strong foam glass tile that allows substantially less waterpenetration than prestressed concrete, so as to protect the supportmembers and to prevent cracking due to freeze/thaw cycles, and toprevent steam explosions inside the concrete in case of fire.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aprestressed, strong foam glass tile which can be used on the criticalsurfaces of buildings at high risk for terrorist attacks, in combinationwith cement, steel or other building materials.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide aprestressed, strong foam glass tile which can come in a variety ofaesthetic appearances.

These and other objects will become apparent from the foregoingdescription.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It has now been found that the above and related objects of the presentinvention are obtained in the form of a prestressed, strong foam glasstile for use in construction. The prestressed, strong foam glass tilesof the present invention are capable of withstanding relatively largeprestressing as a result of their relatively high compression strength.These prestressed, foam glass tiles will absorb and/or withstand moreenergy from an explosion than other foam glass tiles, withstand higherheat and wind loading and other mechanical forces. The foam glass tileof the present invention is strong enough that it can be prestressedover 1000 psi (lb./sq. in.), and more preferably over 2,000, 3,000,4,000 and even more preferably over 5,000 psi.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the prestressed, strongfoam glass tiles of the present invention may be included as part of aprestressed assembly for use in buildings or other structures. Saidprestressed assembly may be comprised of: at least one prestressed foamglass tile, having a prestressed compression of 1000 psi or greater; atleast two metal beams; and one or more tension members; wherein said atleast one foam glass tile is placed between said at least two metalbeams and held in compression by said one or more tension members atleast 1000 psi. Alternatively, the prestress compression of saidprestressed foam glass tile is 2000 psi or greater, and preferably is3000 psi or greater, and more preferably 4000 psi or greater, and evenmore preferably, is 5000 psi or greater. Alternatively, the metalmembers may be inside of said tiles, partially inside said tiles, and/oroutside of said tiles. The prestressed foam glass tile of the presentinvention may also be under compression by a portion of the weight of abuilding. The prestressed assembly may be a column in a building. Themetal beams may be comprised of steel or any other suitable metal. Thetension members may be comprised of tension bolts, wire, carbon fibers,standard and/or compact seven-wire prestressing strands, a rod, an angleiron, a plate, a bar and/or other devices well known in the art forcausing compression of prestressed concrete. The metal beams may becambered prior to assembly to account for stress which will be appliedupon assembly. Alternatively, said assembly may further comprise twometal pieces with beveled edges which are placed between said at leastone foam glass tile and each of the metal beams. Said at least one foamglass tile may be comprised of one or more columns of prestressed foamglass tiles, and/or one or more rows of prestressed foam glass tiles.Said at least one foam glass tile may further be comprised of two setsof foam glass tiles and said tension member is located between said twosets of foam glass tiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and related objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more fully understood by reference to the following,detailed description of the preferred, albeit illustrative, embodimentof the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingfigures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of an embodiment of the present invention withone prestressed foam glass tile under compression with tension boltsoutside the tile;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of an embodiment of the present invention withthree prestressed foam glass tiles under compression with tension boltsoutside the tiles;

FIG. 3A shows a side view of an embodiment of the present invention withtwo prestressed foam glass tiles under compression with tension boltsinside the tiles;

FIG. 3B shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 3B-3B of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of thepresent invention where two sets of foam glass tiles are undercompression with tension bolts in between;

FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 4B-4B of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of thepresent invention where two sets of foam glass tiles are undercompression in two directions with tension bolts in between;

FIG. 5B shows a cross-sectional view taken along line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of another embodiment of the present inventionwhere multiple foam glass tiles are under compression between two floorsin a building; and

FIG. 7 shows a graph of force as a function of displacement of the threepoint bending test comparing Example 7 unstressed and an assembly of thepresent invention using Example 7 prestressed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to prestressed, strong foam glass tileswhich can be used as building materials and otherwise. The presentinvention may be used on the critical surfaces of buildings at high riskfor terrorist attacks, in combination with cement, steel or otherbuilding materials. The present invention may also be used on surfacesof typical buildings and/or as structural support members of suchbuildings. The present invention may be used in lieu of reinforcedconcrete and/or prestressed concrete in any application including butnot limited to buildings, underground structures, TV towers, floatingstorage and offshore structures, power stations, nuclear reactor vesselsand numerous types of bridge systems including segmental andcable-stayed bridges. The present invention has the advantages of beingmore resistant to earthquakes and/or wind and heat loading.

In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/625,071 (“the '071Application,” published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2005/0019542 A1), which is owned by the same applicant and the contentof which is incorporated by reference herein, a strong, high densityfoam glass tile having small pore sizes is disclosed which have tensionstrength ranging from 775 to 2500 lb./sq. in. and compression strengthranging from 2000 to 14,600 lb./sq. in. This previously unattainablestrength in foam glass tiles, now makes it possible to apply thetechnology associated with prestressed concrete to prestressed foamglass tiles. The present invention is directed at this new andheretofore not possible application. Details on how to manufacture suchtiles are disclosed in that application.

There are many possible methods to fabricate ceramic foam panels withvarious densities, sizes, and surface finishes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,108describes various foam glass products fabricated from fly ash and otheradditives with various densities, and surface finishes, the disclosureof which is incorporated by reference herein. Similarly, co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 10/076,971, filed on Feb. 15, 2002 by the sameassignee, also discloses additional processes useful in manufacturingthe present invention, the disclosure of which is incorporated byreference herein. Foam glass with various densities can be fabricated byvarying the composition and type and concentration of cellulatingagents. Viscosity of glass is the dominating parameter during thefoaming process. In addition, the pore structure and its uniformity aredependent on the distribution and particle size of the cellulatingagent.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the foam glass tilepreferably has a closed pore outer skin, which thus provides the tilewith increased strength and protects the tile against water, and thefreeze, thaw cycle. The closed pore outer skin may either be formednaturally as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,108 or mechanically bybonding a secondary glass surface as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,960,the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.Alternatively, the closed pore outer skin may be formed in accordance tothe teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,015, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein. Natural formation is advantageousbecause it does not require additional labor and quality control, andthus is more cost effective and less burdensome. Using a secondary glasssurface may also be advantageous because such techniques allow theclosed pore outer skin to have various color and texture variationswhich will make the tile architecturally attractive for use as anexterior or interior facade of a building or other structure. One way ofmaking different color surfaces is by the use of different coloradditives, as is generally well known to those skilled in the art.

Another advantage of the high density foam glass tile of the presentinvention is that when it is exposed to a blast shock wave it is capableof absorbing a substantial portion of the shock wave. Because thesetiles are capable of absorbing a substantial portion of a blast shockwave, they are particularly advantageous as building constructionmaterials for interior and exterior surfaces of buildings which are atrisk of exposure to explosions, such as government buildings, embassiesand high visibility/famous buildings.

The selection of the particular size, thickness and density of the foamglass tile depends upon the use to which the tile is intended to bemade. For example, if the tile is intended to be used to resistearthquakes, then the tiles should be optimized to be the lowest weightthat can withstand the wind pressure. By contrast, if the tile isintended to protect a building or structure from shock waves associatedwith an explosion, then the tile should be optimized to increase itsdensity and decrease its pore size to be strong enough to withstand sucha shock wave or vice-versa to absorb such a shock wave. The desiredthickness will depend upon the proximity of the exposed tile to thelocation of the potential explosion. For example, on the outside of abuilding, the thickness would have to take into account the distance ofthe tile to the nearest location where an automobile or truck withexplosives may be parked. On the other hand, in an interior of abuilding, such as a support column, the proximity anticipated could beimmediately next to such a column, although the likely anticipatedexplosive load would be substantially less.

For aesthetic-purposes, the tiles with a finished layer can be used onany surface subject to public view. Thus, if only one surface will beexposed to public view, than only that surface needs to have the tileswith a finished layer. On the other hand, if both sides of a wall soughtto be protected by the present invention are subject to a public view,than a second tile with an appropriate finished layer can be used on thesecond exposed side, such as the interior of the building.Alternatively, other interior surfaces can also be used.

Another advantage of the tiles of the present invention is that suchtiles are also heat insulating as well as fire proof. Thus, these tileshave an added advantage of being able to be used to protect a supportcolumn from a terrorist fire attack such as a Molotov cocktail, or othersources of fire. The use of the tiles of the present invention canthereby either prevent and/or delay the destruction of such supportcolumns, thereby increasing the likelihood that occupants of an attackedbuilding will have sufficient time to evacuate.

In the preferred embodiment, the tile of the present invention can bemanufactured using raw materials which include (but are not necessarilylimited to) silica, fly ash, volcanic ash, diatomaceous earth, siliceousminerals, alkali carbonates, calcium and magnesium minerals such asdolomite, and gypsum, sodium silicate, borax, glass powders (such ascullet) and foaming agents. The foaming agent can be selected fromcarbonaceous organics such as sugar and starch, carbon black, siliconcarbide, carbonates, sulfates and other like materials.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the foam glasstiles may be reinforced by using metal netting, metal wires oralternative support structures as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,758,4,833,015, 4,987,028, and 4,992,321, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. While on the one hand, theseadditional materials may help strengthen the resulting foam glass tile,on the other hand, they also can make it more difficult to cut.

Under one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, aprestressed assembly 10 is shown. The prestressed assembly 10 iscomprised of a prestressed, strong foam glass tile 12, two steel beams26, two steel pieces 28, and two tension bolts 18 with associated nuts22 and washers 20. The prestressed, strong foam glass tile 12 is formedin accordance with the teachings of the co-pending U.S. patentapplication owned by the same applicant discussed above which was filedon the same day as the present application, with strain gauges 14attached on each of the four sides of foam glass tile 12, and wires 16coming out of the strain gauges 14 and connected to a strain measuringmachine (not shown). In this embodiment, the strain gauges 14 should beplaced approximately at the center of the 4 side walls of tile 12. Thetop and bottom surfaces 32 of tile 12 should be ground to be smooth andparallel, to avoid uneven application of stress to tile 12. Two steelpieces 28 are placed adjacent to the top and bottom surfaces 32 of tile12. Two steel beams 26 are in turn placed on the outer surfaces of steelpieces 28. The steel beams may also be replaced with other appropriatelystrong and stiff building materials. The two steel beams 26 are boltedtogether by two tension bolts 18 having bolt heads 24 and associatednuts 22 and washers 20, with the steel pieces 28 and foam glass tile 12in between. Alternatively, instead of using nuts, it may be deemeddesirable to weld or otherwise fasten the tension bolts in a mannerknown by those skilled in the art. Each of the steel pieces 28 includesbeveled edges 30 on the side thereof away from tile 12 and adjacentsteel beam 26. When the nuts 22 and bolts 24 are tightened to applypressure to steel beams 26, the beams 26 will bend. In order to avoidtransmitting an unequal stress to the foam glass tiles 12, steel pieces28 are provided with beveled edges 30 so as to permit steel beam 26 toflex when nuts 22 are tightened and to avoid transmitting the curvatureof steel beam 26 to tile 12. Alternatively, the steel beams 26 may bebuilt with appropriate camber so as to avoid the necessity of providingbeveled edges 30 on steel pieces 28, and possibly steel pieces 28altogether. Screws 18 having bolt heads 24 and nuts 22 should beselected to have sufficient strength to apply the required prestressingfor the selected foam glass tile 12.

In order to insure that the strain is applied evenly, the strainmeasured by strain gauges 14 is monitored. Specifically, the straingauges 14 on the side walls of tile 12 that are adjacent tension bolts18 should be monitored to insure that stress is applied equally. Forexample, the nuts 22 should be tightened while bolt heads 24 are heldfixed in a manner so as to maintain the stress gauges 14 approximatelyeven although not necessarily exactly the same. Significantly, until anappropriate tightening protocol is developed for a particularconfiguration, it is useful to have strain gauges located near eachtension bolt to ensure even tightening.

In FIG. 2, another embodiment of the present invention is shown. Here,the prestressed assembly 10A is comprised of the same elements as theprestressed assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1, except that there are multipleprestressed, strong foam glass tiles 12A, 12B, 12C between the steelbeams 26/steel pieces 28. While three tiles are shown in FIG. 2, thenumber of tiles could vary depending upon the size of the tiles andheight of the floor. For example, if tiles of 2 feet×2 feet×somethickness are used, and the distance between floors is 10 feet, as iscommonly the case in many buildings, then 5 tiles would be used insteadof three as shown in FIG. 2. Similarly, in the case where the distancebetween floors is 12 feet, then 6 tiles of the same dimensions would beused. However, even if the distances between floors do not match an evenmultiple of the tile height, the tiles of the present invention can becut to size, as long as the top and bottom surfaces remain even, such asby grounding and/or polishing as discussed with respect to FIG. 1, aboveor some alternatively equivalent method of evening out. Further, betweenthe foam glass tiles the surface should be provided to be smooth oreven.

It is also possible to join the foam glass tile with other solid layersvia a joining compound. For instance, appropriate contact adhesives canbe applied between a sheet of metal and foam glass. One such adhesivethat can be used with aluminum sheets is a silicone based adhesive.Other examples are application of a polymeric foam between the foamglass and another backing material to protect the polymeric foam.Polyurethane foam and cement board are examples of this type ofmultilayer backing. The advantage of polyurethane foam is that, it canbe applied in place into a gap between a pre-positioned foam glass boardand a sheathing back layer. Polymeric backing are particularly useful toreduce fragmentation of the brittle layers such as foam glass and moreso of the cementaceous layers. The backing layer may contain multiplelayers of foam glass bonded together with cement, polymeric foams orother contact adhesives. The tile may also be joined using carbonfibers, polymers, glues, cement, or other adhesives known in the art.

In FIGS. 3A and 3B, another embodiment of a prestressed assembly 50 madein accordance with the present invention is shown. The prestressedassembly 50 of the FIGS. 3A and 3B is comprised of two prestressed,strong foam glass tile 52A, 52B, two steel beams 56, and two tensionbolts 54. FIG. 3A shows a side view of prestressed assembly 50 and FIG.3B shows a cross-section sectional view of prestressed assembly 50 takenin the middle of tile 52A. Although two prestressed, strong foam glasstiles 52A, 52B are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, more or less tiles may beused depending upon the application as discussed above with respect toFIG. 2. As with prior embodiments, it is again important that the topand bottom surfaces of each of the tiles 52A, 52B be even and smooth.Two steel beams 56 are placed on above and below the tiles. The steelbeams may also be replaced with other appropriately strong and stiffbuilding materials. These beams are expected to bend as tension isapplied. Thus, in order to insure that an even compression distributionis applied to the surfaces of the tiles, one or more steel pieces withbeveled edges as discussed above can be used. Alternatively, it ispossible to build an appropriate amount of camber into the steel beamsbased on the anticipated bending. Other techniques well known in the artcan also be used to insure that an even compression distribution will beapplied to the surfaces of the tiles.

The two steel beams 56 are bolted together by two tension bolts 54 in amanner consistent with the discussion in FIG. 1. However, in thisembodiment the tiles are thick enough so that the tension bolts may gothrough the tiles. One advantage of this embodiment over FIGS. 1 and 2is that since the tension bolts are within the tiles which are notpermeable to fluids, there is less likelihood of said bolts rusting.FIGS. 3A and 3B show two tension bolts going through tiles 52A and 52B.While the number of tension bolts is not critical, it is preferred thatthe tension bolts be distributed so as to evenly apply the compressionstrain on the surfaces of the tiles. Alternatively, rather than usingtension bolts, it is possible to use as tension members, wires and othersuch mechanisms well known to those skilled in the art, such as standardand compacted seven-wire prestressing strands as discussed on page 48 ofEdward G. Nawy, Prestressed Concrete: A Fundamental Approach (PrenticeHall 1989). Other alternative tension members are also known in the artand may be used, such as carbon fibers such as Kevlar® or otherappropriately strong metals.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, another embodiment of a prestressed assembly 60 madein accordance with the present invention is shown. The prestressedassembly 60 of the FIGS. 4A and 4B is comprised of two sets ofprestressed, strong foam glass tiles 62A/62B and 62C/62D, two steelbeams 66, and two tension bolts 64A and 64B. FIG. 4A shows a side viewof prestressed assembly 60 and FIG. 4B shows a cross-section sectionalview of prestressed assembly 60 taken in the middle of tiles 62A and62C. Although two pairs of prestressed, strong foam glass tiles 62A/62Band 62C/62D are shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, more or less tiles may be useddepending upon the application as discussed above with respect to FIG.2. As with prior embodiments, it is again important that the top andbottom surfaces of each of the tiles 62A, 62B, 62C and 62D are even andsmooth. Two steel beams 66 are placed above and below the tiles. Thesteel beams may also be replaced with other appropriately strong andstiff building materials. These beams are expected to bend as tension isapplied. Thus, in order to insure that an even compression distributionis applied to the surfaces of the tiles, one or more steel pieces withbeveled edges as discussed above can be used. Alternatively, it ispossible to build an appropriate amount of camber into the steel beamsbased on the anticipated bending. Other techniques well known in the artcan also be used to insure that an even compression distribution will beapplied to the surfaces of the tiles.

The two steel beams 66 are bolted together by two tension bolts 64A, 64Bin a manner consistent with the discussion in FIG. 1. However, in thisembodiment, since there are two sets of tiles, one set comprising tiles62C/62D forming an inner wall, and one set comprising tiles 62A/62Bforming an outer wall, the tension bolts 64A, 64B are threaded betweenthe two sets of tiles. While the number of tension bolts is notcritical, it is preferred that the tension bolts be distributed so as toevenly apply the compression strain on the surfaces of the tiles. Otheralternatives to the tension bolts are also known in the art as discussedabove and may be used instead.

One advantage of using this type of embodiment of assembly 60 is thatthe front wall and back wall can have different types of surfaces. Inparticular, since prestressed, foam glass tiles of the present inventionare capable of many different type of aesthetic finishes as described inthe co-pending application owned by the same applicant discussed abovewhich was filed on the same date as the present application, it ispossible for a wall based on this embodiment to have a different outersurface than the inner surface, and there are a wide variety of surfacesthat can be selected as discussed above. Another advantage of using thistype of embodiment of assembly 60 is that, like the prior embodiment,the tension bolts 64A, 64B is protected against the environment.Further, since there is a built in space between the two walls, wiring,plumbing and other utilities can be built in or brought therethrough. Inaccordance with this embodiment, the steel beams 66 can have appropriateholes designed in to pass through wiring, plumbing, and other utilities.The foam glass tiles of the present invention are also capable of beingcut to provide access holes, without significantly adversely affectingtheir strength. Alternatively, the empty space can be filled withpolymeric foam or other appropriate filler to provide additionalinsulation, and protection against environmental exposure to the tensionbolts and wiring, plumbing and other utilities.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show another embodiment of the present invention wherethe assembly shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are further modified by having twotension bolts through the center of the assembly 70 in one direction(e.g., horizontally), and one tension bolt through the center of theassembly 70 in a perpendicular direction (e.g., vertically). The numberand placement of the tension bolts used can, of course, be modified.Ideally, the tension bolts should be placed in a fashion to provide anequal strain on the material in opposite directions. It is not necessarythat the strain in the vertical direction be the same as in thehorizontal direction, but the strain from opposite ends in the verticaldirection should be approximately even, as the strain from the oppositeends in the horizontal direction should be approximately even. Each setof tension bolts will have a pair of corresponding steel beams, andrelated apparatus as described above with respect to the otherembodiments of the present invention.

Thus the assembly 70 is comprised of two sets of foam glass tiles72A/72B/72E etc. and 72C/72D/72F etc. The first set of foam glass tilescan be comprised of more than one column of tiles such as represented bycolumn comprised of tiles 72A and 72B. The first set of foam glass tilescan be comprised of more than one row of tiles such as represented bytiles 72A and 72E. Similarly, the second set of foam glass tiles can becomprised of more than one column and more than one row of tiles. Thisassembly 70 may be further modified in accordance with the descriptionof the previously assemblies 10, 10A, 50 and 60.

An additional advantage of the embodiment of the present inventionrepresented by assembly 70 in FIGS. 5A and 5B is that different amountsof strain can be applied in the horizontal and vertical direction. As aresult of this arrangement, each tile will have biaxial compressionwhich will make its ability to absorb or withstand shock waves moreversatile. Another additional advantage of this embodiment is that ispossible to make larger panels.

In another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6, theassembly 80 uses two floors 86A and 86B of a building in addition tosteel beams 90/steel pieces 88 to achieve the prestressing. Since theweight of the upper floor 86A can be used to apply compression, theinitial tension being applied by tension bolt 84 can be reduced. In FIG.6, four rows of tiles 82A, 82B, 82C and 82D are shown. However, thenumber and size of tiles can be modified as discussed above. Furtherthis embodiment can be further modified in accordance with the teachingsand principles discussed above with respect to embodiments 10, 10A, 50,60 and 70.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoingmethod of making the tiles and assemblies of the present invention couldbe modified or other methods of fabrication can be used withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

EXAMPLES 1-7

As set forth in the '071 Application, the content of which isincorporated by reference herein as discussed above, the foam glasstiles in Examples 1-7 of the present application were made by blendingthe raw materials set forth under Composition in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 Example 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Composition Silica sand (g) 80 80 80 80 8080 50 Fly Ash (g) 0 20 20 20 20 20 50 Fe₂O₃ (g) 3.4 Sodium Silicate,5H₂O (g) 30 30 30 30 25 25 30 Borax, 5H₂O (g) 25 15 25 25 30 30 25Alumina (g) 5 Sugar (g) 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 Water (g) 25 25 24 25 25 25 25Batch Size Factor 20x 20x 60x 40x 50x 50x 20x Process InformationCalcination temp., ° C. 970 970 970 970 970 970 970 Calcination time,min. 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 Foaming temp., ° C. 810 800 790 810 795 795810 Foaming time, min. 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Foaming mesh size 100 100100 100 100 100 100 Characteristics Density (PCF) 32 36 41 46 62 65 69Bubbles/cm 12 18 12 20 13 18 29 Characteristic length (mm) 0.8 0.6 0.80.5 0.8 0.6 0.3 Compression strength (PSI) 2078 2400 4300 6000 1050012500 14600 Tension strength (PSI) 775 930 960 1250 1400 2500 Glazed TopSurface Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes (closed pore outer skin)

In order to make a useful comparison, the weight of the composition wasnormalized assuming with the total amount of silica plus fly ash equals100 grams. Thereafter, to insure the proper amount of material is usedthe normalized composition weight is multiplied by an appropriate batchsize factor, as indicated in Table 1, to account for the size of themold being used. For example, a batch size factor of 50× has been usedfor a mold 8 inches×14 inches×4 inches.

The resulting slurry was dried, and the powder mixture was calcined at atemperature between 900° C. and 1100° C., as indicated in the processsection of Table 1, for between 5 to 60 minutes, as indicated in theprocess section of Table 1, to react the raw materials, and decomposesugar to finely, and evenly dispersed carbonaceous phase. The calcinedproduct was ground to fine powders, placed in an Inconel™ mold, and wasfoamed by heating at a temperature between 750° C. to 900° C., asindicated in the process section of Table 1, and soaked at thattemperature for between 10 to 60 minutes, as indicated in the processsection of Table 1. The resulting foam glass was annealed to roomtemperature and de-molded.

The characteristics of the resulting foam glass for Examples 1 to 7herein are indicated in the characteristics portion of Table 1. Theresulting foam glass had a density of about 30 and 70 lb./cu. ft., asindicated in the characteristics section of Table 1, and a completelyglazed surface. The pore structure was uniform with average pore sizesas indicated in the characteristics section of Table 1. As Table 1shows, tiles with smaller pore sizes, high density and uniformstructures provided have the greatest tensile and compression strength.In order to determine the strength of the samples of foam glassprepared, an effort was made to follow the standard ASTM testingprocedures for concrete. However, because the samples proved to besubstantially stronger than concrete, the procedures had to be modifiedby reducing the size of the samples in order for the equipment used toactually break the samples. Thus, foam glass blocks were cut intocylinders between 1.0 and 1.5 inches in diameter and less than 5 inchestall for compression measurements without the glazed surface. Asindicated in the characteristics portion of Table 1, the compressionstrength of Examples 5-7 herein were over 10,000 lb./sq. in., a factorof over 2½ times the compression strength of concrete (4,000 lb./sq.in.). Similarly, as indicated in the characteristics portion of Table 1,the tensile strength of Examples 5-7 herein (corresponding to Examples7-9 of the '071 Application) were over 1,250 lb./sq. in., a factor ofover 2½ times the tensile strength of concrete (500 lb./sq. in.).Example 7 herein has a tensile strength of 2500 lb./sq. in., a factor of5 times the tensile strength of concrete.

A composite assembly 10 as shown in FIG. 1 was then built using Example7. The glass tile formed in Example 7 was cut using a glass cutting sawand ground using a silicon carbide grinder into a block which had asquare top surface 32 of 4.52 cm×4.52 cm and a length of 5½ inchesbetween top surface 32 and bottom surface 32. As a result of the cuttingand grinding processes, each of the sides was smooth and parallel to theopposite side of the tile 12. The sample was next washed to remove findgrind. After drying, strain gauges 14 with wires 16 connected theretowere applied to each side of the tile 12. Wires 16 were connected tostrain meters to monitor the deformation of each side of the tile duringprestressing. Tension bolts 18 with a diameter of ⅜ inch were threadedthrough the holes in the steel beams 26, with bolt heads 24 and washers20 on one side of the lower steel beam 26 shown in FIG. 1 and washers 20and nuts 22 being connected on the opposite side of the other steel beam26. The nuts and bolts were left not tightened so as to providesufficient space for the remaining components of the assembly to be fittherebetween. Steel pieces 28 with their beveled edges facing the innersurfaces of the steel beams 26 were then appropriately placed in themiddle of the steel beams. The tile 12 made from Example 7 was then slidbetween the steel pieces 28 with surfaces 32 adjacent thereto. Thealignment was checked and secured to avoid uneven application of strain.Bolt head 24 were held fixed while the nuts 22 were alternativelytightened in a manner to insure approximately even strain in the gaugeswhich were monitored by the meters not shown in FIG. 1. The finalmonitored strain was 2,500με.

One of the tension gauges 14 was removed from a side of the tile 12which was not covered by a tension bolt. The assembly was then testedfor its tension strength by placing the opposite side of tile 12 on twoknife edges (i.e., rounded cylinders), with a third knife edge beingplaced in the top center of the side where the tension gauge 14 wasremoved. The tension bolts remained on the other two sides of tile 12. Aconstant rate of displacement was then applied on the top knife edge,and the resulting force was measured. The same type of analysis was alsoperformed on another piece of Example 7 which was 1.58 cm×4.76 cmsurface and the results were compared. FIG. 7 shows a graph of the forceas a function of displacement of the three point bending test comparingExample 7 unstressed (see curve 92) and an assembly of the presentinvention using Example 7 prestressed (see curve 94). The differentdimensions of the samples were accounted for by using equation (1) asfollows:F _(2,rescaled) =F ₂(w ₁ /w ₂)(h ₁ /h ₂)²  (1)where F_(2, rescaled) is the rescaled Force, F₂ is the measured force,w1 is the width of sample 1, w₂ is the width of sample 2, h₁ is theheight of sample 1, and h₂ is the height of sample 2.

Significantly, as can be seen from FIG. 7, the area under the curve 94associated with the prestressed sample was 35 times larger than the areaunder the curve 92 associated with the unprestressed sample. Thisdemonstrates an extremely large resistance to shock waves of the typethat may be associated with either an explosion, earth quake or otherintense shock wave. Similarly, the amount of force which the prestressedsample withstood was 35 kN, as compared to the unprestressed samplewhich absorbed less than 10 kN. As a result of this substantiallygreater force applied prior to failure, a lighter more compact materialmay be used to withstand a greater force. This demonstrates a verystrong material. The desired strain pattern can be designed toaccommodate a particular application as is consistent with methods usedby those skilled in the art.

Now that the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described in detail, various modifications and improvementsthereon will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention is to beconstrued broadly and limited only by the appended claims and not by theforegoing specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A prestressed assembly for use in buildings orother structures comprising: two sets of prestressed foam glass tiles,each having a prestress compression of 1,000 psi or greater; at leasttwo metal beams; and one or more tension members wherein said one ormore tension members are located between said two sets of prestressedfoam glass tiles and wherein said prestressed foam glass tiles areplaced between said at least two metal beams and held in compression ofat least 1,000 psi by said one or more tension members.
 2. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1 wherein said prestress compression ofsaid prestressed foam glass tiles 2,000 psi or greater.
 3. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1 wherein said prestress compression ofsaid prestressed foam glass tiles 3,000 psi or greater.
 4. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1 wherein said prestress compression ofsaid prestressed foam glass tiles 4,000 psi or greater.
 5. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said prestress compression ofsaid prestressed foam glass tiles is 5,000 psi or greater.
 6. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said tension member is at leastpartially inside of said tiles.
 7. The prestressed assembly of claim 1,wherein said assembly is a column in a building.
 8. The prestressedassembly of claim 1, wherein said at least two metal beams are comprisedof steel.
 9. The prestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said one ormore tension members are comprised of tension bolts.
 10. The prestressedassembly of claim 1, wherein said one or more tension members arecomprised of wire.
 11. The prestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein saidone or more tension members are comprised of carbon fibers.
 12. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said one or more tensionmembers are comprised of standard seven wire prestressing strands. 13.The prestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said one or more tensionmembers are comprised of compacted seven wire prestressing strands. 14.The prestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said one or more tensionmembers are comprised of one or more rods.
 15. The prestressed assemblyof claim 1, further comprising a third set of prestressed foam glasstiles having a prestress compression of 1,000 psi or greater.
 16. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said one or more tensionmembers are not within said prestressed foam glass tiles.
 17. Theprestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said metal beams are camberedprior to assembly to account for stress which will be applied uponassembly.
 18. The prestressed assembly of claim 1, wherein said assemblyfurther comprises two metal pieces with beveled edges which are placedbetween said prestressed foam glass tiles and each of said at least twometal beams.